Petition filed in Delhi HC to disqualify PM Modi from elections for 6 years; Here's what we know

A lawyer has filed a plea against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Delhi High Court for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and sought his disqualification from contesting elections. The plea, by Anand S. Jondhale, refers to Modi’s speech in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh on April 9, where Modi allegedly sought votes in the name of “god and place of worship” and "Hindu deities and Hindu place of worships as well as Sikh deities and Sikh place of worship" while campaigning for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, according to a some news reports. The plea seeks Modi's disqualification from contesting any elections for a period of six years.

Jondhale argued that Modi violated the Model Code of Conduct mentioned in Compendium of Instructions Volume-III under Rules General Conduct-I(1) and (3). The provision states that no party or candidate shall include in any activity that may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes or communities, religious or linguistic.

In his plea, Jondhale stated, "That Respondent No.2 [Modi] said that he has constructed the Ram Temple. Respondent No.2 also stated that he developed Kartarpur Sahib Corridor and removed GST from material used in Langars served in Gurudwaras. The Respondent No.2 also said that he had brought back the copies of Guru Granth Sahib from Afghanistan."


The plea also alleges that Modi made comments against opposite political parties as favoring Muslims, which, according to Jondhale, creates hatred and promotes disharmony. Jondhale further contended that PM Modi not only sought votes in the name of Hindu and Sikh deities and their places of worship but also violated the MCC by making comments against political opponents.

Meanwhile, Modi, concluding his Lok Sabha poll campaign at a rally in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, made a Tamil-centric pitch as he proposed to set up Thiruvalluvar centres globally, and labelled the Congress and DMK "sinners" over "ceding" Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka. Modi dubbed the DMK and Congress "anti-national" and said the entire country has now understood the "truth,” that they had given Katchatheevu to another country after "cutting it off" from Tamil Nadu.

The petitioner stated that even though he approached the Election Commission of India (ECI) with a prayer to register FIR against the Prime Minister under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between groups) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and to disqualify Modi from contesting elections for six years, the Commission took no action.

(With inputs from Agencies)